When I Think of Research-EDUC-6163-6

The insights I have gained about research from taking this course are the facts of importance of validity, having an independent and dependent variable, and having equity in research.

My ideas have changed about the nature of doing research by me learning the steps to take for conducting research. I always thought you just went out and collected data. I didn't realize that you needed an outline or a timetable for research. This was a new idea for me.

The lessons I learned are basically as I said in the previous statement. I learned that it was important to plan an outline and design how you will gather data, how you will select participants, who will participate, etc. This was all new for me. I just thought it was an issue to research and you went out and did what you had to do to find it. The timetable thing makes sense because if you drag it out for a long time, it could change results.

Some of the challenges I encountered were the aspect of remaining neutral and putting aside biases. When you come into a research topic, you kind of start thinking about how you feel about the subject or what your take is on it. I faced these challenges by reminding myself the research hadn't been conducted yet, so I needed to put the opinions to the back of my head and concentrate on the facts that I gather. This is easier said than done. Way easier said than done!

My perceptions of an EC professional have been modified by raising the awareness of the importance of our profession to children. It also raised awareness of the importance of our future. We have an amazing task ahead of us that requires us to be dedicated to the children of today,because tomorrow they are our future. Research is something that is really needed to ensure that we offer our children the best opportunities possible. Research is also important to the fact that we need to offer those opportunities in the best way available.

Research Around The World

I explored the Early Childhood Australia Website.

I found they were researching many different subjects. Some that were interesting to me were Young Children's Learning which was about infants and toddlers learning. Another subject of research was Respecting Diversity and how it happens in the classroom. Also, my favorite research topic on the site was learning and teaching through play. This is something of great interest to me because I constantly have to defend our play based learning in our Head Start program. It was nice to see that in other parts of our world they also see the benefits of play based learning.

I was so surprised to see that they were studying play based teaching and learning. I know here in the United States and it is hard to get some people including parents to buy in to the fact but I had no idea it would be going on in Australia. I have heard many good things about the quality of Australia's educational system so them supporting play based learning makes me feel even better about us supporting it here in our Head Start program.

The other noteworthy information that I found was the fact that they have a Early Years Learning Framework. This is something we also have here in the United States. I was especially glad to see that our educational system has some of the same things as Australia, because as I stated before I have heard good things about their educational system. To think we are lining up with some of their practices is heartwarming.

Share a positive example of research for children and families

Conscious Discipline is a research based discipline program. Its motto is discipline isn't something we do to children, its something you develop within children. Our Head Start program is embracing this and has been doing so for the last three years. It has been really wonderful for some of our children who are behavior problems. Conscious Discipline teaches children to focus on their feelings instead of reacting to them. Our teachers and staff are having monthly trainings and our managers have been attending the conferences twice a year. Conscious Discipline is a really huge outfit now. It was developed by Dr. Becky Bailey and she can be contacted through her website and you can also learn more about Conscious Discipline. The web address is www.consciousdiscipline.com

Personal Research Journey

I have chosen to do Parental Involvement as a research simulation. I am not exactly sure how I can narrow it to one specific subject to convey what I want. If anyone could help me tailor it to be more specific, I would be grateful. I am open to any suggestions. Sometimes, I have trouble putting in to words what I would like to say. I chose this because I have seen many children grow from my preschool program moving into middle school and beyond. I have seen differences in the children who had parents directly involved with them than those who did not. Some were in the custody of a foster family, or group home, or even an orphanage. I also have seen children that were minimally taken care of by both parents. These children show different signs of development. The children of parents that were more involved developed better socially, academically, and had better behavior. The children of the parents who barely took care of them didn’t fare so well. They were in trouble, failed and had to repeat grades. Some are even in trouble with the law now. I feel like this is a credible research project. If we could get the information out to people, maybe parents would spend more time with their children. Thus, creating a better outcome for their lives and creating better communities. I feel like this is an advocacy issue and I could use the research as a tool to help advocate for parents to be more involved.

Profile of a Volunteer

The person I think about when completing this profile is a good friend of mine. Her name is Vanessa. She is 76 years old and volunteers every weekday except Monday's. She volunteers at the hospital 30 minutes from her house. She volunteers at the hospital's nursing home on another day. She also volunteers at a library in Richmond which is 45 minutes from her house and she has to get on the interstate to get to it. She helps people that are learning to read and helps tutor people who don't understand different things. She is committed to being at each one of those volunteer opportunities. If someone asks her to do something else, she tells them she can't. She makes volunteering a priority. She keeps her commitments. I think this says a lot because I know I would want to miss volunteering and go with the person who invited me out for the day. However she is a shining example of what I should be like.

I feel like her efforts have positively effected others because the people in the nursing home look forward to seeing her. They are able to connect to someone that is their age. She takes them things to cheer them up, such as one resident who likes doing seek and find puzzles, she brings her books on a regular basis. Also, she has had the opportunity to bring small children to see some of the residents who have grandchildren that never get to visit them. She goes out of her way to make an effort to do something special for them. This improves their morale and gives them a bright spot to look for in the day. The other organization she volunteers for at the library is making a positive impact on the participants because it is improving their literacy. We all know that helping someone learn is a positive impact that can never be removed. Knowledge is something that can't be taking away and has potential to be spread from one individual to another. Perhaps we will never know the true amount of people she has impacted there.
Vanessa's volunteer efforts at the hospital involve the emergency department. She helps direct people to their appropriate places when their loved one has been brought to the hospital by an emergency vehicle. A kind loving person who lends her help surely will make a positive impact on those who have been snatched from their everyday routine and thrown into a crisis. Vanessa has a kind, caring, and compassionate heart and is ready to offer those family members any assistance she can.

The vital take away message here is you have to be committed. You have to have care and concern for all. All children are important and we can't be just concerned with those we can see, because there are many others out there who need our help as well. Volunteering is important and we as advocates need to realize we can't always get paid for everything we do. If its an issue that we are committed to, then we need to do it just because it's the right thing to do!

Using Social Media to Get Connected

I became a user of Facebook in 2009. That was my first dealings with any social media. I think the only reason I got involved then was because I had actually sat down and looked at my nieces page and there were many different things that appealed to me. I decided to go on and start my own page. I have really enjoyed it but I don't really log on that much. If I had more time, I could do a better job.
Status updates on Facebook are useful tools for effective advocacy. Adding information to Facebook periodically about advocacy issues is a great way to inform and solicit input. You could also conduct a survey through Facebook and collect data.
I would use Facebook for just the things I mentioned before. I would use pictures and update statuses to show graphs, of date pertaining to the issues, etc. I would also use Facebook to put out events and invite others to be a part of the events. This is a widespread way to get information out to the general public.
I guess I would need to ask my colleagues how I would get to know more about Facebook so that I can learn to do more things on the page. SOmetimes its hard to figure out what to do.

Advocacy Messages

You didn't give up on sex. Don't give up on birth control either. There are more methods than you think.

This is inspiring because it is trying to prevent unplanned pregnancies. The slogan shows a dog interrupting a couple about to have sex. This is funny and it makes people laugh but also stop and think. Its important to convey message in a way that will be well received and humor is one way.

Give. Advocate. Volunteer.

I think this is inspiring because it is a simple statement. It is trying to engage people in the community. It is easy and clear for them to understand. There are many needs in the community and this is a simple way of saying how people can help. It basically shows them they can help with having to get super involved (such as donating money) or they can help by actively being involved (advocating and volunteering)

A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.

This is effective because the slogan lets people know how dangerous it is to text and drive. The slogan also lets them know how much more likely they are to be in an accident if they text and drive. It gets their attention and hopefully they want to be more safe.